At Olin Business School, thinking
becomes an art of discipline and
a devoted process. Students
become research-savvy and skilled
contributors. Smart ideas become
proprietary knowledge through a
dedication to academic research
and teaching. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a collaboration and
mentoring of faculty and students,
smart like few others.

WashU PhD | 3

Relevance and rigor are the
hallmarks of Olin’s programs.
That translates into a distinctive reputation for
Olin’s PhD graduates, whichever of the seven PhD
degrees you pursue. You will master analytical
and critical-thinking skills that enable you to solve
complex, unstructured business problems.

“The Olin point of difference is to
offer the top program of choice
for the best, the brightest PhD
candidates, and select universities
seeking to hire new faculty.”
— Anjan Thakor
Director of Doctoral Programs, Director of WFA-
CFAR, and John E. Simon Professor of Finance

Olin’s business PhD program ensures you:
•

An intellectually challenging core curriculum

•

Strong grounding in basic disciplines

•

An energized, research-driven culture of excellence

•

A collegial network built upon mutual respect and a community of critical thinkers

•

A competitive edge in the business education market

•

ollaborative relationships between faculty and students to enhance the education
C
experience and ultimate search for your first faculty appointment

4 | olin.wustl.edu/phd

The Olin Experience
Research productivity flourishes at Olin. In fact, Olin is consistently
ranked among the most prolific institutions in the business school
community. Our faculty members are committed to excellence
in teaching and are recognized the world over for their important
contributions in the creation of new knowledge. PhD students and
faculty partner in a rigorous academic program in one of seven
areas of specialization:
Accounting

Marketing

Business
Economics

Operations and
Manufacturing
Management

Finance

Organizational
Behavior
Strategy

760 328

average GMAT score
for enrolled students
in fall 2017

average GRE score
for enrolled students
in fall 2017

62

total number of students
WashU PhD | 3

Curriculum
As an Olin PhD student, your coursework will be individualized. Personalized advising and
customized course selection allow you to match your studies to fit your particular goals and
interests. In all cases, flexible learning combines with independence in study. You’ll master both
analytical and critical-thinking skills, and students with advanced standing have opportunities to
teach independently.

36

Completion of the degree requires 36 graduate credit
hours of coursework, along with the preparation and
oral defense of a dissertation. Although each area has
specific degree requirements, all PhD students are
required to be proficient in the following areas:

required
credit hours

Core Foundation
•

strong foundation in microeconomics or
A
psychology, along with an understanding of
probability/statistics and quantitative methods

•

xposure to your area of specialization and the
E
required research tools

•

Successful completion of core exam

Specialization
•

Coursework in one or more areas of study

•

In-depth knowledge in your chosen field

•

ctive association with the research process
A
through faculty mentoring

•

Completion of the field exam(s)

4 | olin.wustl.edu/phd

Research
•

ollaboration with faculty in
C
research activities

•

resentation of well-developed
P
research papers

•

Individual research pursuing a
specialized topic of interest

•

evelopment and defense of
D
your dissertation

Research
Projects
As a PhD student, you’ll support
ongoing research, employing
state-of-the-art analytical and/
or empirical methods to address
substantive questions. In addition,
you’ll be exposed to leading
researchers from around the world
at select conferences, seminars,
and workshops. Upon advisor
recommendations, PhD students
are provided with funding for
travel to attend conferences and
academic meetings.

ain classroom teaching experience through
G
teaching assistantships (beginning in the
second year of the program)

•

ngage in opportunities to teach
E
independently (if and when students with
advanced standing are deemed ready)

Renowned Faculty
Olin faculty members are thought leaders
whose research is on the leading edge of
business thinking. All Olin faculty members
are research-active and teach on a regular
basis. They present, publish, and serve on
editorial boards, thus fostering the crossfertilization of knowledge and continual
innovation in business research.

experience is mutually beneficial, with faculty
members gaining new perspectives and
valuable insights, while students hone the
research skills necessary to be successful
academics.

Olin’s innovative research centers cultivate
dynamic interaction between academia and
industry to produce new knowledge and
advance understanding of firms and markets
around the world.
Olin faculty and PhD students regularly
collaborate and cowrite research featured in
top academic journals, learning and growing
together from project inception through article
revision and publication. This collaborative
WashU PhD | 5

Student Placement
Recent placements of Olin PhD students include:
• Cornell University
• Georgia State University
• Indian School of Business
• National University of Singapore
• New York University, Shanghai

• University of Alberta
• University of British Columbia
• University of Maryland
• University of Notre Dame
• University of Texas at Austin

Mentoring
At Olin, a collegial network is built on mutual
respect and shared schools of thought. You’ll
be guided by Olin’s highly productive faculty
members, some of the nation’s top scholars
in business and management research. These
one-on-one mentoring relationships are formed
early and help you hone research skills. Upon
graduation, many students will have cowritten
publications with faculty, who become mentors,
colleagues, and collaborators.
6 | olin.wustl.edu/phd

“For me, Olin has been
an extensive framework
of learning opportunities
and a platform to nurture
my appetite for research.
A small program like
ours is an ideal place
to gain insights and
be inspired by the
opportunity of learning
from one another.”
– Johan Maharjan,
PhD 2015

Environment
Olin welcomes students from around the globe with friendliness, support, and a sense of belonging.
This community atmosphere extends to all of Washington University, where Olin students study
alongside other students pursuing graduate degrees in art, architecture, engineering, physics,
social work, and many more fields. As an Olin student, you’ll have a supportive community of
classmates, faculty, and staff. You’ll also have access to additional assistance to help you learn
and develop, including the University’s Teaching Center and the Liberman Graduate Center. These
resources are in place to help you achieve the greatest success possible during your studies.

STL

Located in the heart of the Midwest, St. Louis
represents the WashU culture on a larger scale.
Its diverse, close-knit community and culture
mean there’s always something to do and
someone to do it with.

Financial Support
All applicants are automatically considered for
Olin-provided financial support; no separate
application is required. In addition to the
annual stipend, Olin provides funding for the
presentation of papers at conferences, and for
expenses associated with the completion of
theses and job searches.

All enrolled students on scholarship making
satisfactory progress in the program are
guaranteed financial support for five years.
This includes full tuition remission, plus a
stipend for living expenses distributed over
12 months.

Admissions
A successful academic background, research
aptitude, intellectual curiosity, skills acquired in
the basic disciplines (particularly economics,
psychology, math, and statistics), passion
for a chosen field, and an uncompromising
work ethic are necessary for successful and
timely completion of our program. Applicants
are evaluated on the strength and breadth of
academic background, experience, ability to
research, and aptitude.
To be considered for admission, you will need
to submit a completed online application, the
application fee, letters of recommendation,
transcripts, and exam results. International
students are required to submit copies of
their TOEFL or IELTS scores. Students are
admitted to the program for the fall semester
only. Application deadlines and document
submission instructions are available on our
website (olin.wustl.edu/phd).
8 | olin.wustl.edu/phd

Late applications or applications with late
supporting documentation will not be
considered.
Washington University encourages and
gives full consideration to all applicants for
admission, financial aid, and employment.
The University does not discriminate regarding
access to, or treatment or employment in, its
programs and activities on the basis of race,
color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation,
gender identity or expression, national origin,
veteran status, disability, or genetic information.
Applicants with a prior criminal history
will not be automatically disqualified from
consideration for admission. Inquiries about
compliance should be directed to the Vice
Chancellor for Human Resources, Washington
University, Campus Box 1184, One Brookings
Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899.

Learn more
Washington University in St. Louis
Olin Business School
Campus Box 1133
1 Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
Phone: (314) 935-6340
Fax: (314) 935-9484
phdinfo@wustl.edu
To learn more or apply
to the Olin PhD program,
visit olin.wustl.edu/phd.

PhD in Accounting

WashU PhD

“The Olin PhD program helps exceptional students foster scholarly thinking and
build research skills.”
—Richard Frankel, Beverly and James Hance Professor of Accounting

Olin Business School’s Accounting program focuses on infusing students with a broad base of knowledge,
and the necessary research skills to enjoy robust careers as university educators and researchers. This
rigorous training is crucial to entering the highly competitive field as an accounting faculty member at a top
research university.
In this program, you’ll study issues in two areas: the role of financial information in facilitating the operations
of capital markets, and assistance for managers planning and controlling the way institutions operate.
The Wells Fargo Advisors Center for Finance and Accounting Research (WFA-CFAR) is dedicated
to the dissemination of research in finance and accounting that brings to light cutting-edge thinking, and
helps solve the unique needs and challenges of business. The center brings an important focus on finance
and accounting issues through the creative design of Olin courses, groundbreaking research papers and
white papers, top-tier academic conferences, and custom member projects. These corporate projects are
teamed by PhD and other Olin students, working closely with Olin faculty. Students strive to solve current
challenges and position the organization for the future.

Collaborative Research—Accounting Faculty and PhD Students
Working Papers:

“Students in Olin’s PhD program receive an unparalleled amount of personalized
attention. This experience strengthens and accelerates the start of their research
careers.”
—Stephen P. Ryan, Professor of Economics

Olin’s PhD program in Business Economics prepares you for an academic career in economics with
rigorous training grounded in the central areas of the field. You’ll have opportunities for cross-disciplinary
work, combining economics with strategy, finance, or marketing. Student success is fostered by the
faculty’s active interest in supporting student learning, along with advising and supervising overall research
efforts to help students realize their full potential. Olin Business Economics faculty members have a
special interest in empirical and theoretical industrial organization. Research pursuits cover a wide range of
subjects, including industry studies, incentives in organizations, organizational design, health economics,
and the determinants of industry structure.
The Center for Research in Economics and Strategy (CRES) advances the understanding of firms
and markets by supporting scientific research employing state-of-the-art analytical and empirical
methods. Intended for publication in top-tier academic journals, CRES-sponsored research addresses
substantive questions in many areas of economics and strategy. In addition to research assistance,
which includes PhD student funding and data collection, CRES supports frequent presentations of
internal and external research, national and international short-term visitors, CRES Fellows, and a
website that includes extensive research listings.

Collaborative Research—Business Economics Faculty and PhD Students
Working Papers:

“Olin’s PhD program combines esteemed finance faculty producing cutting-edge
research in an environment that fosters faculty-student interaction. Professors
guide students inside and outside the classroom, as well as coauthor research
—Radhakrishnan Gopalan, Professor of Finance
with them.”
Olin’s PhD program in Finance emphasizes rigorous analytical training and prepares
you to pursue a career in research and teaching at leading academic institutions across
the globe. Our students have a strong quantitative background, and typically have
undergraduate training in economics, mathematics, engineering, or other quantitative disciplines.
Our research-active faculty members are easily accessible to you. Collaboration is encouraged early in the
program, with joint research resulting in faculty-student coauthored papers published in top-tier journals.
Much of the research is based on economic models to address problems such as the allocation of capital,
and risk and rewards in the economy. Empirical work widely uses the tools of econometrics—the application
of statistics to economics.
The Wells Fargo Advisors Center for Finance and Accounting Research (WFA-CFAR) is dedicated
to the dissemination of research in finance and accounting that brings to light cutting-edge thinking, and
helps solve the unique needs and challenges of business. The center brings an important focus on finance
and accounting issues through the creative design of Olin courses, groundbreaking research papers and
white papers, top-tier academic conferences, and custom member projects. These corporate projects are
teamed by PhD and other Olin students, working closely with Olin faculty. Students strive to solve current
challenges and position the organization for the future.

Collaborative Research—Finance Faculty and PhD Students
Working Papers:

“The success of our marketing PhD program comes from its size and top-notch
faculty. The small size ensures that each student gets individual attention throughout
the program, while the premier Olin faculty allow students to apply the newest
techniques to projects that match their interests.”
—Raphael Thomadsen, Associate Professor of Marketing

At Olin, the Marketing discipline is distinguished by a demand for innovative ideas, critical
thinking, and a strong emphasis on quantitative abilities. The program has two areas of study: Marketing
Science and Consumer Behavior.
Marketing Science focuses on economic fundamentals, including microeconomic theory and
econometrics. Using this methodology, you’ll examine mathematical modeling of buyer/seller interactions,
consumer choices, purchase behavior, resource allocation, components of the marketing mix, and
new-product development.
As a Consumer Behavior student, you’ll concentrate on psychology fundamentals, including cognitive
psychology, social psychology, and behavioral decision theory. These areas provide a strong foundation
for you to study and research consumer judgment and decision making, cognition, culture, emotions,
motivation, individual differences, perception, and social influence.
Some PhD Marketing students analyze the intersection of Marketing Science and Consumer Behavior,
exploring how the interplay of these two broad areas can improve understanding and predict
marketing phenomena.

Collaborative Research—Marketing Faculty and PhD Students
Working Papers:

“Influential research and fresh knowledge creation are the trademarks of any
top doctoral program and business school, and Olin’s doctoral program is both
pioneering and extremely successful at it.”
—Panos Kouvelis, Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and
Manufacturing Management and Director of the Boeing Center for Supply
Chain Innovation

Olin faculty members in Operations and Manufacturing Management (OMM) are distinguished by
strong analytical backgrounds in operations research, management science, industrial engineering, and
economics. The program emphasizes the use of modeling techniques to understand manufacturing and
service environments, in areas of research ranging from supply chain management, operations strategy,
and revenue management to supply contracts and effective uses of information technology for process
reengineering. Research frequently focuses on areas with strategic and tactical implications and involves
mathematical models that help analyze problems and provide insight into complex scenarios.
The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation (BCSCI) creates value through collaborative research
in technology, information, and supply chain management. The focus is on the proprietary challenges
member companies face. BCSCI undertakes a number of custom projects annually for members. Teams
of PhD and other Olin students tackle these projects, working closely with Olin faculty to find solutions that
build a competitive advantage through strategic supply chain management and technology-based process
reengineering. BCSCI also sponsors seminars, conferences, and other programs to address critical issues,
and bring to light the latest thinking in the information, technology, and supply chain fields.

“The Olin PhD program is a wonderful place to explore meaningful questions and acquire
the key research skills to find answers to these questions—answers that often have an
immediate and considerable impact on the scholarly community and society at large.”
—Markus Baer, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior

Olin’s Organizational Behavior program examines how individuals and groups affect—
and are affected by—organizations and the people in them. As an Organizational
Behavior PhD student, you’ll study organizations from multiple viewpoints, methods,
and levels of analysis—delving into management, leadership, negotiation, team development, and conflict
management, among other areas.
The program follows an apprenticeship model with an emphasis on one-on-one interaction. You’ll work
directly with faculty and thesis advisors, observing how Olin’s research-driven faculty approaches
a subject.

“Our students benefit from a large faculty-to-student ratio relative to other Strategy
PhD programs. This means more attention—and the ability to work with multiple
faculty before deciding on a dissertation topic.”
—Nicholas Argyres, Vernon W. and Marion K. Piper Professor of Strategy

At Olin, we believe that great Strategy PhD candidates have a fundamental drive to impact business
practice. Our students, like our faculty, have diverse undergraduate training, including economics,
chemistry, engineering, and mathematics. We strongly promote interdisciplinary and collaborative research
among PhD students and faculty across business disciplines, and with other areas and schools at
Washington University.
In our program, strategy is studied at both the firm and individual levels—examining how organizations
create and capture value, which arises from differing strategies, organizational designs, and environmental
conditions. While firm performance is observed at the market level, the microfoundations of this
performance lie in the behavior and organization of individuals and resources within the firm. The
organization of these factors influences performance in innovation, firm structure, and human productivity.
The Center for Research in Economics and Strategy (CRES) advances the understanding of firms
and markets by supporting scientific research employing state-of-the-art analytical and empirical
methods. Intended for publication in top-tier academic journals, CRES-sponsored research addresses
substantive questions in many areas of economics and strategy. In addition to research assistance,
which includes PhD student funding and data collection, CRES supports frequent presentations of
internal and external research, national and international short-term visitors, CRES Fellows, and a
website that includes extensive research listings.

Collaborative Research—Strategy Faculty and PhD Students
Working Papers: